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Crank
Crank is a 2006 American action film, written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and starring Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Efren Ramirez, and Dwight Yoakam. The plot centers on a British hitman in Los Angeles named Chev Chelios who is poisoned and must keep his adrenaline flowing constantly in order to keep himself alive, and in so doing causes mayhem, gets into fights with other gangsters, has altercations with the police and takes numerous drugs. The film's title comes from the slang word for methamphetamine. Produced and distributed by Lakeshore Entertainment and Lions Gate Films, it was released in the United States on September 1, 2006 in 2,515 theaters. The film was generally well received. Plot Carlito (Carlos Sanz) leads a wealthy and influential Mexican-American crime syndicate in Los Angeles. Worried about encroachment from a Chinese syndicate, Carlito orders the contract killing of their leader, Don Kim (Keone Young). Carlito's best hitman, a British man called Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), is given the job. However, after the hit, the anger of the Chinese is much greater than Carlito expected. Carlito regrets the hit, deeming it "ill-advised". Carlito tells the Chinese the hit had nothing to do with him, and he will remove the elements in his own organization who were responsible. Ricky Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo), a small time criminal and long-time rival of Chelios, uses the opportunity to conspire with Carlito against Chelios. While Chelios sleeps in his apartment, Verona breaks in and injects Chelios with the "Beijing Cocktail", a synthetic drug inhibiting the flow of adrenaline, slowing the heart and eventually killing the victim. Chelios wakes to find a recorded video explaining that Chelios should have about an hour left before the poison stops his heart. Chelios phones Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam), a personal physician to the Mafia, who informs Chelios that in order to survive he must keep his adrenaline pumping through constant excitement and danger, or get some artificial adrenaline, epinephrine. With his own adrenaline keeping the poison at bay at first, Chelios breaks into a hospital and steals numerous drugs, much more than Doc Miles advises him to take and also gets "juiced" by hits from a defibrilator. He also keeps his adrenaline up through reckless and dangerous acts like picking fights with other gangsters, stealing things, committing robberies, fighting with police and driving a car through a shopping mall, having sex with his girlfriend in public. The entire film takes place in a single day, on November 7, 2005, over the course of which Chelios sets out to find Verona and his street gang through Chelios' street contact Kaylo (Efren Ramirez), a flamboyant homosexual. Chelios also picks up his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) before Verona's thugs get to her. Chelios attempts to sexually assault Eve while she strongly resists in the middle of a busy street in Chinatown, while hundreds of people look on, in order to keep his adrenaline up; she eventually appears to consent and they proceed to have sex, still amidst a crowd of onlookers. It’s eventually revealed that Chelios spared Don Kim's life and told him to leave LA. Chelios arranges a rooftop meeting with Carlito, Verona and their henchmen, who promise him a fake antidote. Don Kim arrives along with his Triads to assist Chelios, and a shootout follows, killing many of Carlito’s men. Carlito himself is killed by Verona, who then tries to leave in Carlito's helicopter. The film concludes with Chelios' confronting Verona in the helicopter, which over the course of the battle, they both fall out of. Chelios breaks Verona's neck mid-air and, still falling, calls Eve on his cell phone, to apologize for not coming back. Chelios hits a car, bounces off it and lands right in front of the camera. In the last shot, it is implied that his adrenaline is indeed still flowing fast; his nostrils flare, he blinks, and two heartbeats are heard. Cars in the movie *1972 Buick Riviera *1983 Ford Econoline *1977 Lincoln Versailles *1980 Volkswagen Rabbit Category:TV and Movies